"Marcelo was scared and called the doctor on but the doctor couldn't get on in the confusion. It was a big shock, the image of Neymar being stretchered off to the helicopter, in difficulty, crying," Scolari was quoted as saying.

Team doctor Jose Luiz Runco said that Marcelo's calls for the doctor had caused the panic after the challenge.

"We've lost the one player we didn't want to lose ahead of the semi-finals and the final," Scolari said of the "disastrous" loss.

Neymar was stretchered off in the 88th minute of the game and rushed to hospital where the fracture of the third vertebrae was confirmed.

The 22-year-old Barcelona striker has since taken a few steps but the team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar has said it will take from four to six weeks to recover.

FIFA is investigating the tackle by Zuniga who could face action. The Colombian defender has apologised but insisted he had not intended to hurt Neymar.